Symbols

Symbolism is the amount of objectivity that the writer prefers for his work. With the use of metaphors that depict his or her ideas and theme, the author is able to control, even the smallest amount, the reader's interpretation of their piece. The use of symbolism in poetry is paramount to revealing what that author is trying to convey while simultaneously allowing the reader to form their own take on the poem. "Traveling through the Dark" by William Stafford and "Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin are similar in that both their poems are based on animals; however, while Stafford uses cars as a symbolism for the greater evil that destroys nature, Kumin uses the symbolism of the cyanide gas to express the inborn and unidentifiable evil within human beings themselves.

In "Traveling through the Dark" by William Stafford, the use of one powerful symbol establishes the main idea of the poem; the destruction of nature by material objects. His description of his car as he stands by the dead deer is almost predatory. The car stands for the bigger meaning of a destructive creation towards nature and wildlife. The scene where he is touching the deer's stomach and sees his car further demonstrates the predaciousness of the machine."The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights; under the hood purred the steady engine." With the car, Stafford symbolizes the harmful characteristics of man-made machinery.

In "Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin, while also using the theme of animals, uses the symbol of cyanide gas to reveal her thoughts of the inherent malevolence of humans. Her approach to exterminating the woodchucks by gassing them instantly uncovers her malicious intentions. As the poem progresses the narrator becomes more and more irritated and consequentially more evil-natured and serious toward the death of each woodchuck. Nearing the end, after she has killed them all, we see a more regretful nature of her, though disturbing. "If only they'd all consented to die unseen gassed underground the quiet Nazi way." This ending statement signifies the connection the narrator is making between the effects of the Holocaust and the termination of the small woodchucks. The reader can see her true intentions as, explaining the inceptive immoral streak each human carries within them toward living things and nature overall.

Both these poems, with their respective symbols, explicate what they want the reader to take away from their poems.